The present invention relates to a treatment machine, in particular for pharmaceutical products, particularly a filling and closing machine.
In machines of this type, a machine in connection with a well is known, which is used with a sterile liquid passing through a valve chamber and a valve spindle extends in the valve chamber and is provided at its end with a valve closing member. In such a valve, there is a danger during the operation that bacteria can reach from the unsterile region to the valve spindle, and during the valve stroke they reach the valve chamber and thereby the sterile liquid which is provided in it. In order to prevent such a situation, the German document D-OS2002 464 discloses that the region of the valve spindle located outside of the valve housing can be surrounded by a tube, and a passage is formed between the tube and the spindle and sealed at both ends by seals relative to the valve spindle. Hot water or steam are introduced as a medium at one end into this ring passage, and withdrawn at the other end of the passage. The medium guided in the passage is therefore completely different than the medium, for example the sterile medium, in the valve chamber, which is sealed by a seal to the passage.
Such a known machine is not usable for filling and closing machines, in particular for pharmaceutical area, in which the unsterile region, for example the drive region, or machine region is provided at one side of the partition and the sterile region, for example filling and closing region, is provided on the other side of the partition. The movable drive member moves through the partition between both regions. Therefore there is a danger that individual particles or germs can be dropped from the unsterile region over the movable drive member into the sterile region.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a machine between an unsterile region and a sterile region, which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent herein after, one feature of present invention resides, briefly stated, in a treatment machine for pharmaceutical products formed as a filling and closing machine, comprising an insulator which surrounds a sterile treatment region; a substantially plate-shaped partition which separates the sterile treatment region from an unsterile drive region; at least one movable drive member for driving treatment functions, said drive member being drivable from said unsterile region for its movement, extends through said partition into the sterile treatment region and is surrounded over at least one longitudinal portion by a passage through which a medium is supplied, said passage in an end region which extends in the sterile treatment region being open by at least one opening toward the sterile treatment region, so that a sterilization medium is aspirated from the sterile treatment region through said at least one opening into said passage and is aspirated through said passage in direction toward the unsterile drive region.
When the machine is designed in accordance with the present invention, then from the sterile region in direction toward the unsterile region around the drive member, a desired suction in direction toward the unsterile region is performed, so that the possibility is excluded of dragging particles against the flow direction into the sterile space. The machine with such a machine in accordance with the present invention is reliable in operation. It not only makes impossible dragging particles from the unsterile region into the region of the passage and toward the sterile region, but also simultaneously it is such that during the sterilization in the sterile region which is performed at the beginning of operation of the machine, a penetration of the sterilization medium, for example an H2O2-air mixture in the unsterile region is prevented, so that simultaneously during the sterilization a sterilization is guaranteed in the region of the passage and thereby the outer surface of the drive member.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.